Kettering sports bar reopens today after 3-week makeover

The Elsa’s Sports Grill at 1216 E. Stroop Road in Kettering, which shut down for renovations on Jan. 23, reopens today, Feb. 16, after a makeover that grew in scope beyond what was originally envisioned.

The kitchen portion of the renovation restores full functionality to the hood ventilation system that was damaged in an Oct. 23, 2016 fire. When those repairs took slightly longer than anticipated, the sports bar’s owner-operator, Jason Hemmert, decided to expand the renovation project to “give the interior a much-needed face-lift as well,” Hemmert told this news outlet earlier this month.

“Our business has really outgrown what we had before,” Hemmert said. “So we are trying to turn the ‘negative’ of the fire that occurred into the ‘positive’ of a first-class, efficient kitchen operation. It will truly benefit our staff, and of course our guests, for years to come.”

The hood-and-ventilation project restores the full menu, Hemmert said. Customers had been missing the pub’s chicken wings, which had been on hiatus since the fire.

The fire was caused by faulty wiring in exhaust hoods, according to a Kettering Fire Department spokesman who estimated damage at $40,000 to $50,000. Crews from Kettering, Washington Twp. and Dayton responded to the restaurant on the morning of Oct. 23 when employees discovered the fire.

Hemmert recommended that customers needing an Elsa’s fix visit one of Elsa’s other three locations, two in Dayton and one in Centerville.